TEACHING a young person to drive can be a daunting task.
Workshops and hands-on driving events scheduled for November will hopefully help take some of the stress away from parents.
Wingecarribee Shire Council’s road safety officer, Charmaine Cooper, has announced four young driver events in November.
“A crucial component of the continually improving NSW Graduated Licensing Scheme (GLS) is that all learner drivers must obtain a minimum amount of documented supervised driving experience,” Ms Cooper said.
“Not everyone is confident about documenting the prescribed driving experience correctly or teaching someone to drive under the current licensing scheme so free two-hour GLS Workshops and Logbook Run events will be held in November next week, with Hill Top Community Centre being the location of one workshop to particularly encourage residents from northern villages to attend.”
The workshops seek to provide practical advice on supervision, completing the logbook and new licence conditions.
They reinforce the importance of a ‘stepped approach’ to allow learner drivers to obtain their initial driving experience in lower risk road locations, and then gradually present them with more complex situations.
Participants also learn the importance of teaching ‘low risk driving’ techniques to learner drivers and the role of parents in establishing parameters and support for provisional licence holders.
Workshops are suitable for supervising drivers to attend and are held from 6.30pm to 8.30pm with supper provided.
The Log Book Run is a great opportunity for learner drivers to cover some of the many topics included in the Learner Driver Log Book and clock up some driving experience hours.
Ms Cooper said the event is similar to a road rally where directions and maps are provided, taking learners and their supervisors off on a drive that includes a wide range of road conditions and tasks such as random breath tests, roundabouts, traffic lights, narrow bridges and windy roads.
“This event usually starts at 10am and on occasion we also offer learner drivers the opportunity of visiting the Police Driver Training Centre in Goulburn for some amazing safety demonstrations,” she said.
“A minimum 30 hours driving experience and prior attendance at a workshop are generally required for participants.”
Bookings are essential.
Registration forms can be collected from local libraries, Wingecarribee Shire Council offices in Moss Vale and the RTA Motor Registry at Welby or download one at www.wsc.nsw.gov.au/roads. Details: 4868 0809.
GLS workshops
*November 4 at Moss Vale.
*November 5 at Hill Top Community Centre.
Logbook run days
*November 8 Starts at Moss Vale, with a variety of routes available for driving.
*November 22 at Goulburn.